I have been to Joshua Tree National Park so many times over the years that I cannot remember how many. Despite that, however, I had never explored Rattlesnake Canyon. It was time! So after a three-day backpack trip with my nephew, we spent a good part of a day scrambling over and under boulders, some larger than a house. What an adventure!
For this hike, my intention was to make it from the Rattlesnake Canyon trailhead all the way to Willow Hole and back. I set this goal because I have future plans for a 35 mile backpack trip that will venture down Rattlesnake Canyon from Willow Hole. So if I can successfully navigate up the canyon and back, then I’ll have confidence with my future backpacking trip.
For those unfamiliar with Rattlesnake Canyon, it starts out simple enough in a sandy wash but quickly changes to a pile of boulders up the main canyon and spreading out in all directions. One can really explore the area for an entire day if desired without any specific route in mind. But I had a detailed route that I intended to follow that I hoped would be relatively easy and gain me access to Willow Hole.
Trip Details
TRIP DATE Jan 8, 2021
LENGTH About 4 miles, point-to-point roundtrip
ELEVATION GAIN 1347ft
TRAILHEAD Beginning and ending at Rattlesnake Canyon Trailhead
DIFFICULTY difficult to strenuous
WATER Unreliable sources in canyon. Bring your own.
Download the GPX file here: Rattlesnake Canyon to Willow Hole
While hiking this route, navigational skills and map-reading are required. Following a GPS and/or a printed map are needed to correctly find the indicated route. This is not really a trail but more of a scramble. There is third class scrambling and boulder hopping the majority of the way. As such, rock climbing skills will make things easier and are highly recommended but not required. Climbing gear is not necessary.
Long pants and a long-sleeve shirt are recommended. The granite rocks can be sharp, but gloves are not recommended simply so that you have a better feel and grip. Boots or shoes with sticky soles and grip will make things easier.
The route marked indicates that this is about 4.2 miles out-and-back. But your hike will most likely be longer due to all the zig-zagging and route-finding.
Plan about 4-5 hours round trip, possibly more depending on your skill level. It can get very hot in the canyon, so an early start is suggested. Bring plenty of water. Dogs and drones are not allowed.
In January of 2021, I took my nephew on his very first backpack trip. But this wasn’t any easy, run-of-the-mill trail. Instead, we would venture through two canyons with second class scrambling as well as off-trail hiking to the summit of Quail Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park. Following a GPS and/or map-reading skills were necessary, and this felt like a great introduction to backpacking for him. Go big or go home!
After my successful backpacking trip last November, I was hungry to get back out to the desert. The winter in Joshua Tree is really the perfect time to visit, and despite being cold at night, the daytime temperatures are perfect in the 60’s. So I planned this trip for my nephew to join me. I would serve as his mentor in a way, which would involve teaching him what to bring and how much, how to pack the backpack, energy saving hiking techniques, and cross-country navigation with map and compass.
For the route, I chose an area I’m familiar with as well as some areas that I’ve never been to. The route starts and ends at Boy Scout Trailhead and would continue towards Samuelson Rocks and then up Smith Water Canyon. Once at the top of the canyon, we trekked cross-country up to the summit of Quail Mountain, down the upper part of Jonny Lang Canyon, and finally down Jonny Lang Connector trail back to the car.
There are no reliable water sources in Joshua Tree. Therefore, we cached water at the top of Smith Water Canyon that we planned to pick up on the morning of day 2. To place the cache, we drove to Lower Covington Trailhead and hiked in a mile to where it met our route exiting Smith Water Canyon.
Trip Details
TRIP DATE Jan 5 to Jan 7, 2021
LENGTH About 22 miles, loop
ELEVATION GAIN 2835 ft
TRAILHEAD Beginning and ending at Boy Scout Trailhead
DIFFICULTY moderate to difficult
WATER No water available. Cached water at top of Smith Water Canyon
Download the GPX file here: Quail Mountain Loop
Check out my gear list at Lighter Pack: My Gear
Day 1: Boy Scout Trailhead to Smith Water Canyon
The first day began easy enough at Boy Scout Trailhead where we walked down the road a bit to Quail Springs and began following Quail Wash to Samuelson Rocks and Smith Water Canyon. Along the way we visited an old water pump at the mouth of Johnny Lang Canyon. We ended the day of hiking in a secluded area at the entrance to Smith Water Canyon.
Day 2: Smith Water Canyon to Quail Mountain
The following morning was met with a beautiful sunrise. My nephew, however, decided to sleep in until after the sun came up, so I had the morning all to myself.
After breakfast and all packed up, we hit the trail up Smith Water Canyon to the summit of Quail Mountain. This would prove to be very challenging. The hike up Smith Water Canyon was fun with some second class boulder scrambling and some bush-whacking. None of it was too difficult, but it was slow going at times.
When we got to the top of Smith Water Canyon, we found our water cache and took a break. The hardest part of the day was still up ahead. Having added eight pounds of water to our packs wasn’t going to help either.
The route took us along a short section of the California Riding and Hiking Trail, but we eventually had to veer off-trail and start a steep climb up a ridge. From this point to the summit, there really wasn’t a defined trail, so it was fun and challenging to navigate with a map and compass.
After a nice break at the summit, we started our descent towards Johnny Lang Canyon. We setup camp 2 about a mile from the summit. Although exhausted, I explored the area and photographed through sunset. My nephew, however, passed out in his tent.
Day 3: Quail Mountain and Johnny Lang Canyon
The final day was relatively easy down the upper section of Johnny Lang Canyon to Johnny Lang Connector Trail and finally to the car. The hardest part was the navigation. Without much of a defined trail at times, the transition to Johnny Lang Connector Trail was elusive.
We eventually completed our loop. This was such a great experience for the both of us, and I hope to go on many more trips with my nephew.
If you would like to follow more of my hiking adventures, be sure to check out my AllTrails profile. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @mikebodenphoto.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but yes, I didn’t go on any backpack trips for over twenty years. Although you might find that hard to believe, it’s true. The reason behind this is simple yet complex.
When I was 28 I injured my back from overuse. On this particular year I had climbed Mt Whitney, Mt Raineer, San Gorgonia, San Jacinto, Mt Gould, Temple Crag, and more. That, combined with a lot of climbing, hiking, biking, snow boarding, and snow skiing, my body was worn out. Eventually, it had had enough and while training one day, I felt a sharp stab in my lower back. Three years later, after finally giving in to the pain, I had surgery. Afterwards, I feared I’d never be able to climb or backpack again. It’s not that I was handicapped or anything. It was more that I didn’t trust myself or have the confidence in those abilities. I felt weak. Before the injury, I was climbing and hiking regularly with frequent backpack trips. I was strong and felt like I was in good shape; I never gave the idea of carrying a 50 pound pack a second thought. After the injury, however, carrying a heavy pack intimidated me. I also didn’t want to place any burden of responsibility on a partner. So, instead of trying, I simply stopped. Twenty years later, I discovered that my actions were fear-based and I was on the wrong path.
This realization and newfound confidence birthed out of a simple hike in the Sierra Nevada to Valentine Lake. Although we didn’t trek all the way to the lake, we hiked almost five miles round trip and it felt invigorating. It was almost an epiphany, an awakening of sorts. Like what the hell have I been doing with my life for the past twenty years? So what came out of that hike was a strong motivation to get back into the mountains, back into the wild again, and to do it with vigor and determination.
If this was to become reality, then I’d need to seriously reconsider what I could carry on my back. I was vaguely aware of the ultralight backpacking movement, so I immediately started researching gear. It didn’t take long to put a list together, but it took a bit longer to swallow the pill of the price tag. This wasn’t going to be cheap, but I felt that it was going to be worth every penny and realistically the best way for me to put the least amount of strain on my body and to enjoy myself.
Over a period of a couple months, I purchased and acquired gear while simultaneously researching where my first backpack trip was going to be. As winter was approaching, I chose Joshua Tree National Park since I was planning on going out the week before Thanksgiving in 2020. But when looking on the AllTrails app, I couldn’t find a backpacking trail either long enough or as a loop that I was interested in. Most trails seemed to be geared for day hikes. So I scoured the internet for backpacking ideas in Joshua Tree and I came across an article from, Christy Rosander (trail name Rockin’) titled, Joshua Tree National Park Big Loop Backpack. After reading this, I was inspired to create a loop myself by linking a bunch of trails together. I came up with the following.
Trip Details
TRIP DATE Nov 22 to Nov 24, 2020
LENGTH About 15 miles, loop
ELEVATION GAIN 1,178 ft
TRAILHEAD Beginning and ending at Boy Scout Trailhead
DIFFICULTY Easy to moderate
WATER No water available. Cached water where trail crosses road.
Download the GPX file here: Joshua Tree Loop
As for gear, I went all in on the ultralight idea. There’s still some room for improvement, but I did my best to minimize what I brought. Check out the gear list on Lighter Pack: My Gear.
Day 1: Boy Scout Trailhead to Samuelson Rock
Since this was my first trip in over twenty years, I decided to take things easy and not push myself at all. I really just wanted to get back out into the wild and enjoy and immerse myself in nature. So the first day was really easy with a gently downward sloping trail that mostly followed a sandy wash to Samuelson Rock where I planned to camp for the first night. But just prior to reaching this destination, I took a short detour up Johnny Lang Canyon to an old functioning water pump. I had never been here before, so I was rather excited to find it.
From there I continued on to Samuelson Rock where I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring in complete solitude to finally settle down to a beautiful sunset.
Samuelson Rock has an interesting history surrounding John Samuelson that I encourage you to discover on your own.
Day 2: Samuelson Rock to Boy Scout Trail
The next morning, I awoke to a serene sunrise and spent the early hours photographing leisurely.
After breakfast and packing up, I finally hit the trail, or rather a series of trails. My hike from Samuelson Rock took me on the Bigfoot Trail to Maze Loop Trail to Big Pine Trail and finally to Boy Scout Trail where I camped about two miles before the end. I was feeling really good and certainly could have continued on to my vehicle, but I wanted another night out in the wilderness. After all, that’s what I came for.
Day 3: Boy Scout Trail to End
The next day offered another peaceful morning and with beautiful light.
I finished this short trip in short order with only about two miles left to the car, but it was shared with a sweet feeling of success. I had more than succeeded in my goal. Not only did I complete the loop, but I did it solo and without any problems. My skills from long ago were never forgotten, like riding a bike, and my back and body felt strong. I was overjoyed in the moment.
If you would like to follow more of my hiking adventures, be sure to check out my AllTrails profile. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @mikebodenphoto.
In this short article, I’m going to show you how to setup SSH Public/Private keys to allow you to SSH into a Linux server without needing to enter your password each time. This is not only a great convenience, but becomes useful for any scripting that utilizes SSH to transfer files from one server to another in an automated way.
On the local computer, enter the following command:
ssh-keygen -t dsa
You should see something similar to the following:
Generating public/private dsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (~/.ssh/id_dsa): (hit return)Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):(hit return)Enter same passphrase again:(hit return)Your identification has been saved in ~/.ssh/id_dsa Your public key has been saved in ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub The key fingerprint is: (A long string of random characters will be displayed.)
This generates a folder and several files. Paste the content of ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub into the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the remote host. There are two ways to do this. The first way is to copy it to the remote server with the following command:
ssh-copy-id user@remoteserverAlternatively, you could first copy the file to the remote server with:
scp ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub user@remoteserver:/your/home/directory
Then login to your remote server via ssh and copy the id_dsa.pub file into your authorized_keys file with the following command:
cat id_dsa.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keysAnd that’s all there is to it. With this simple setup, you should now be able to login to your remote server via SSH without the need to enter a password.
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I own a GretagMacbeth SpectroScan T x/y table that is used to read and measure test charts used in the creation of ICC printer profiles. I bought this unit used about eight years ago, and it has served me well throughout this time. However, I recently tried to read a target with the SpectroScan to create a new printer profile, and the device failed and returned an error. In this article, I’ll show you how I problem-solved and ultimately fixed it.
GretagMacbeth manufactured two different SpectroScan x/y tables, one with transmission capability and one without. The one I have is capable of measuring transmissive readings and is designated as SpectroScan T (note the capitol letter T for transmission). Throughout this article, I will shorten the name and simply use SpectroScan to reference my device.
If you’re not familiar with the SpectroScan x/y table, then allow me to explain. In simple terms, it is a device that controls a spectrophotometer, which in this case is a SpectroLino spectrophotometer. The SpectroScan is called an x/y table because it’s able to position the SpectroLino in both the x and y axes. It also tilts the SpectroLino up and down as it maneuvers and takes measurements. Finally, the SpectroScan communicates with software on a computer over a serial line by receiving and sending commands between the computer and the SpectroLino, thereby telling the SpectroLino to take a measurement of a specific color patch on a test chart and send that result back to the computer. A typical chart will take about an hour to measure.
The software I use in conjunction with the SpectroScan is ProfileMaker 5. This is actually a suite of applications which include ProfileMaker, MeasureTool, ProfileEditor, and ColorPicker. Although this package is no longer available, it is still considered a very powerful suite of applications that many photographers continue to use today.
Within the suite of applications, I specifically use MeasureTool with my SpectroScan. This application communicates with the SpectroScan, collects the measurement readings, and saves them to a file that is ultimately used with ProfileMaker to create a printer profile. MeasureTool is rather straight-forward and something that I’ve successfully used in the past on many occasions.
The computer I use with ProfileMaker and the SpectroScan is running Windows XP, and serial communication is through a Keyspan serial-to-USB adapter (P/N USA-19HS). At one point, this was the latest operating system that ProfileMaker would run on due to the HASP authorization dongle not having a compatible driver with newer operating systems. This is no longer the case as a new driver is now available for Windows 7, so I can install ProfileMaker on just about any computer. Furthermore, if I had an Apple computer, that would be another option as well.
THE PROBLEM
When I attempted to read a target recently, MeasureTool gave me an error: “The instrument was not found. (Error 20304)“. Although I’ve received this error message in the past, I’ve always been able to overcome it by rebooting the device and making sure I was connected properly. Therefore, I took the following steps to troubleshoot my problem:
- Tried two different Keyspan serial-to-USB adapters.
- Tried several different USB cables.
- Tried multiple USB ports.
- Tried combinations of the above on two different computers, Windows XP and Windows 7.
- Tested continuity of each circuit on the 25pin-to-9pin cable(36.50.55). All were good.
- Tried resetting the SpectroLino as outlined on page 17 of the User Guide.
None of the above changes had any affect in resolving the problem. So I called a fellow photographer who owns the same machine and asked if I could borrow his SpectroLino to try on my SpectroScan. Unfortunately, with a different SpectroLino attached to the table, my problem still wasn’t resolved. At this point I began thinking that the issue was with the SpectroScan table and not the SpectroLino, but I wanted confirmation that my SpectroLino was working. To do so, I connected the SpectroLino directly to the computer with the necessary cabling and hardware: a mini-DIN cable (36.50.54), a Gretag external power supply, a mini-DIN adapter (36.19.58), a 25pin-to-9pin cable, and a Keyspan Serial-to-USB adapter. The diagram below from the User Guide shows the setup. The only difference is that a Keyspan adapter was inserted between the last cable and the computer.
Voila! It worked, and I was able to successfully reset the SpectroLino, connect with MeasureTool, and take a spot reading. Therefore, I conclusively confirmed that my SpectroLino was functional and that the problem was definitely with the SpectroScan table and not the SpectroLino.
SEEKING REPAIR
I had gotten to a point where there was nothing else I could do to solve the problem, and I felt that I needed to get the device repaired. GretagMacbeth, however, no longer provided support. In fact, they are no longer around because they were purchased and taken over by X-Rite many years ago, who also no longer supports the SpectroScan. What I’ve learned, though, is repair services for these old devices in the United States was once available through Ernst Hohmann at Automation Engineering, who X-Rite supposedly contracted with. Indeed, I actually spoke with him many years ago regarding another issue with my SpectroScan. But when I tried to reach out to him regarding my current problem, his contact info was a dead end, and I haven’t been able to locate him. So I suspect that he’s either moved or no longer offers his repair services. Either way, I was unaware of any repair company to help me, so I was forced to attempt the repair myself.
When trying to repair electrical equipment, it’s always best to have a schematic and a service manual. However, after searching the internet for as long as I could handle, I was still empty-handed. I knew it was a long shot, but I reached out to tech support at X-Rite and inquired about getting the necessary documents. Although polite, the individual I was conversing with claimed that X-Rite no longer supported or serviced these units and that a schematic or service manual was unavailable. No surprise there. He did say, however, that he would contact a colleague in the UK that may be of help. After a week of waiting, nothing ever materialized, so I was definitely on my own in solving the problem, and disadvantaged at that. But hey! What did I have to lose? The SpectroScan wasn’t working, so it wasn’t like I was going to be any worse off as I tore it apart to investigate. With that said, a level of pragmatism was necessary, so I put haste aside and approached the problem systematically. Let me describe the issue in more detail.
SYMPTOMS AND OBSERVATIONS
Powering Up
When first powering up the SpectroScan, beeps were not emitted from the SpectroLino, which is abnormal behavior. The standard startup procedure when applying power to the SpectroLino is to emit beeps, indicating a power on OK status. This is true when the SpectroLino is connected directly to a computer or via the SpectroScan. Either way, no beeps indicates a problem.
After this, the next step is for the SpectroLino to move to home base over the calibration tile. In my case, this occurred and appeared normal.
Software
Within MeasureTool, the first step is to configure the Device and Port. This entails selecting the SpectroScan instrument from a drop-down list and choosing the communications Port. I use AUTO for the port, which has always worked fine. When I choose these settings, the status is returned as OK.
Next, I select Measuring Chart to begin scanning a target. After choosing the correct Test Chart, I click the Start button to begin the process. Immediately, the SpectroScan jumps into action and moves the SpectroLino to home base over the calibration tile. This is normal behavior and expected. However, this is where the process stops and after a short while a pop-up window displays: “The instrument was not found. (Error 20304)“.
HYPOTHESIS
With the symptoms and observations outlined, I was able to detail what worked and what did not work and thereby come up with a hypothesis.
I felt confident that the serial communication between the computer and the SpectroScan was working. This was a two-part deduction. First, MeasureTool was able to communicate with the SpectroScan during Configuration, and the status was indicated as OK. Although I didn’t use a Serial Port Monitor application to actually read the serial port data, the general assumption is that some sort of handshaking must happen to pass this stage. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to configure the device within MeasureTool, and the Status would not be indicated as OK. What’s important here is the absence of an error message during configuration.
Secondly, when initiating a Measuring Chart task, the SpectroLino moves to home base over the calibration tile before it fails and produces an error. Therefore, this indicates that commands are sent to the SpectroScan to initiate the process. Otherwise, if serial communication was broken, then nothing would happen when the Start button is clicked.
With this information, I was able to confirm that the serial driver/receiver chip and the main processor chip were functioning correctly. Let me explain. As mentioned earlier, MeasureTool must handshake in some way with the SpectroScan during configuration by sending a command to the SpectroScan, which signals a response to complete the setup. If this is the case, the serial command must be received and decoded by the serial driver/receiver chip before traveling to the main processor. Furthermore, the main processor subsequently sends a command back to the computer alerting of its presence and status, thus establishing a connection.
If you’re still not convinced, think of the actions of the stepper motors thus far, which are the motors used to position the SpectroLino. At this juncture, all three motors were capable of control via the front panel. Additionally, they were set into action when initiating a chart measurement within MeasureTool. Not only were both the x and y axes functional, but so was the tilt mechanism. From this observation, I concluded that the main processor must be working as well as the stepper motor controller chips. Commands to move a particular motor are first sent to the main processor, no matter if they emanate from the serial line or the front panel. Once processed, the command is passed to the stepper motor controller, which then sends a signal to a specific motor to move in one direction or another.
In summary up to this point, serial communications was functional as was the serial driver/receiver, main processor, and stepper motor chips. I also concluded that the stepper motor limit stops were functioning as well. There is a total of three, one for each motor. When the SpectroLino correctly positioned itself over the calibration tile and tilted accordingly, it told me that the limit stops were able to communicate an electrical signal back to the main processor, which subsequently told the motors to stop or move.
All of this information was valuable to me when trying to solve the problem. It gave me a starting point as to what the actual problem was and where to look. I also thought about the original error code: “The instrument was not found. (Error 20304)“. This implied that the SpectroLino could not be found, as if it wasn’t even plugged in. Therefore, I was beginning to hypothesize that I had either a power or communications issue between the main circuit board and the SpectroLino. It was time to take the unit apart and see if I could locate the problem.
INSPECTION
When opening the SpectroScan for the first time, I was impressed at how simple it is.
The power supply is a standalone unit.
The power supply wiring harness is a total of seven wires, which connects to the main board. Power is distributed to the stepper motors, front panel circuit board and the SpectroLino from the main circuit board through various other cabling.
The main circuit board hosts a Siemens 80C166 micro-controller, Maxim MAX238CWG RS-232 driver/receiver chip, ST L6219 stepper motor driver chips, AT29C010A flash memory, TC55257DFTL SRAM memory, and several other miscellaneous chips.
Communication to the front panel is through a 20-pin ribbon cable.
Communication to the SpectroLino and the two other stepper motors is through a 26-pin flat flex cable.
An intermediate circuit board serves as a central connection point for two stepper motors, their limit stops, and another connector for an 8-pin flat flex cable that connects to a third circuit board.
This small board is nothing more than a way to mount and connect the SpectroLino. It doesn’t contain any components other than the 8-pin flat flex cable connector and the mini-DIN connector.
The front control panel circuit board mounts underneath the top surface of the SpectroScan table:
With the SpectroScan opened, I wanted to do some preliminary testing before digging deeper, so I checked the power supply. Although I didn’t suspect there would be a problem, this is standard procedure when trouble-shooting electronics. I actually learned this lesson many years ago in high school with a Commodore 64 computer that was malfunctioning. I brought the computer into my electronics class to try and repair the garbled display. After my teacher and I worked on it for weeks, we eventually gave up. It wasn’t until I got a new replacement computer that I had the idea of trying the new power supply on the old computer. And what do you know? It worked! When I told my teacher, I think he felt a little foolish.
Anyway, with my SpectroScan, the power supply wiring harness had seven wires: three black ground wires, three red supply wires, and a brown supply wire. Using a multimeter, I measured 23.98v on each red wire and 4.994v on the brown wire. Without a schematic telling me what they’re supposed to be, these values appeared normal to me, so I assumed they were correct.
Next, I found a PDF file on X-Rite’s website outlining the serial interface of the SpectroScan and SpectroLino: SpectroLino SpectroScan SERIAL INTERFACE Edition 5. Although it referenced an older version of each, I assumed some of the information must still apply. What I was looking for most specifically was the pin configuration of the SpectroLino, which I found on page 72:
With this information, I knew each pins designation, which allowed me to measure for power at the mini-DIN connector that the SpectroLino plugs into. When doing so, I measured 23.90v on pin 7 with pin 4 as ground. This was looking good, and I was beginning to think that the problem wasn’t a power issue but a communications one. Perhaps the problem was a faulty flat flex cable preventing communication between the SpectroLino and the main processor.
Two flat flex cables are used for communication from the main circuit board to the SpectroLino: a 26-pin cable connecting the main board to the intermediate board and an 8-pin cable connecting the intermediate board to the small board where the SpectroLino plugs into. After testing the cables, the good news was that each circuit on both cables tested good for continuity. The bad news was that the flat flex cables were not the problem.
Digging a little deeper, I removed the main, intermediate, and small circuit boards to study them more closely.
Main board:
Intermediate board:
Small board:
With the boards on the bench where I could inspect them more meticulously, I didn’t see any defective components or obvious signs of damage with the exception of two things. First, the small circuit board that the SpectroLino plugs into had some crusty solder connections on the pins of the mini-DIN connector. These could be potential cold solder joints. Additionally, there was some corrosion at the via holes, which are used to connect traces from one side of the circuit board to the other. I wasn’t certain if either was the culprit, but this circuit board quickly became the main suspect.
REPAIR
With the small circuit board now looking questionable, I thought it best to test the continuity of the mini-DIN connector to the 8-pin flat flex cable connector. Although I had previously measured 24v on pin 7, I surprisingly discovered that I had no continuity on this pin. The remaining pins tested good, so pin 7 was looking like the obvious cause of the malfunction.
If you remember from the SERIAL INTERFACE PDF that I showed you earlier, the pin designations specified pin 7 as a power source to the SpectroLino. Therefore, without power to the SpectroLino, it wouldn’t be able to reset or communicate. It effectively becomes non-functional, and as far as the SpectroScan and MeasureTool are concerned, it acts like it’s not plugged in, exactly as the error code indicated: “The instrument was not found. (Error 20304)“.
What I thought odd, however, was that I had previously measured 23.90v on this pin. So what does this mean? All I can surmise is that corrosion or a broken trace with a slight or intermittent continuity might be capable of measuring the potential force of a power supply, yet is unable to sustain a current demand. Whatever the case, I was now acutely focused on this circuit as the root of my problem.
Suspecting corrosion as the cause, I doused the board with DeoxIT and scrubbed it clean. Unfortunately, the problem remained, even after letting it soak overnight. Therefore, I removed the mini-DIN connector and cleaned up the board further to see if I could find the reason why the connection was broken. I immediately identified the problem. As the photo shows below, the reason why I did not have continuity between pin 7 of the mini-DIN connector and the flat flex connector was because of a broken trace. The location on the circuit board was underneath the black housing of the mini-DIN connector, so there was no way to see it without removing the connector.
My initial attempt to fix the broken trace was to bridge the gap with solder, but when doing so, the trace lifted off of the board and prevented me from fixing it with this technique. Therefore, I needed a different solution. If I had had a silver conductive pen on hand, that probably would have worked, but without one, I opted to install a bodge wire instead. This is simply a jumper wire from one point to another.
After re-installing the mini-DIN connector, I soldered a jumper wire on the back side of the board as shown below. This bodge wire directly connects pin 7 of the mini-DIN connector to the trace that continues to pin 7 of the flat flex cable connector.
This is not the most elegant way to fix a problem. But hey! It got the job done and returned continuity between pin 7 of each connector. Afterwards, I ensured that continuity of the remaining pins was accurate and that I did not induce any cross-talk between circuits. With this fix in place, I was confident that my original problem had been solved, so I didn’t feel the need to do any further testing. It was time to re-install the board into the SpectroScan and test.
SUCCESS
Immediately upon power up, I knew I had fixed the SpectroScan when a series of beeps were emitted from the SpectroLino and it moved itself over the calibration tile. I was excited and couldn’t open MeasureTool fast enough to test. As expected, the SpectroScan configured correctly, communication was established, and I was able to initiate a chart measurement without any errors. Whoo-hoo! An hour later, the measurement was complete and ready to make a printer profile in ProfileMaker. I solved the problem!